Honduras was hit hard by two hurricanes in November, at the same time as the corona pandemic raged and poverty and violence flourished.

Now many are hoping for a better life in the United States.

- They threw us out as if we were dogs, like garbage, as if we were useless for the country, says 28-year-old Olga Ramirez crying.

She, her husband and their four children are fleeing their homeland because the family can no longer get enough food in Honduras, after losing her job selling food at a bus station after a private operator took over the operation of the station.

Many families with children

Between 7,000 and 8,000 migrants have crossed the border into Guatemala in recent days, according to authorities.

Because there were many families with children among the migrants, they were allowed to enter the country without the police using force, according to a police source according to AFP.

But a video taken by the news agency Reuters shows how Guatemalan security forces collide with about a hundred migrants at the police roadblocks near the city of Chiquimula.

About a thousand people have been sent back to Honduras again.

Hundreds of miles

The migrants still have hundreds of miles left to go through Central America to Mexico and on to the United States, where they hope that the strict immigration rules that apply during President Donald Trump's time in the presidency will be changed during Joe Biden's term.

Biden has promised a "fair and humane" immigration system and to try to address the root causes of poverty and violence that make many Central Americans seek refuge in the United States.

But US authorities have already warned the group not to try to enter the country.

Mark Morgan, head of the US Border and Customs Administration (CBP), has urged migrants not to waste time and money going north.

Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico have an agreement with the United States to stop migrants heading north and they are likely to encounter new resistance along the way.

Mexico states that it will put an end to all types of illegal border crossings.